Soybean Quality Program Lets Farmers Show What Sets U.S. Soy Apart
Key Takeaways
- •The United Soybean Board provides farmers with sampling kits so their harvest samples can be tested for grain quality by university researchers.
- •Participating farmers receive individual results revealing compositional traits like protein and oil content that are not visible at the point of sale.
- •Anonymized data from the program is compiled into reports promoting the quality of U.S. soybeans to global customers and trade partners.
- •The initiative is part of the Soy Checkoff, a farmer-funded program overseen by the USB that invests in research, market development, and promotion.
- •Brent Rendel, an Oklahoma soybean farmer and USB director, discussed the program with Brownfield at the 2026 Farm Progress Show.
As harvest season approaches, U.S. soybean farmers have a chance to help document and promote the quality of the crop they grow. At the 2026 Farm Progress Show, Brownfield spoke with Brent Rendel of Miami, Oklahoma, a soybean farmer and director on the United Soybean Board, about a program that enables farmers to collect soybean samples during harvest and have them tested for grain quality.
The United Soybean Board (USB) supplies participating farmers with a sampling kit. The collected samples are then sent to university researchers for analysis. Each farmer receives individual results, providing useful insight into the quality of the soybeans they are producing on their own operations — information that can be difficult to see from yield figures alone, since compositional traits such as protein and oil content are not always visible at the point of sale.
Beyond the individual benefit, the information serves a broader purpose. The data is anonymized and compiled into reports that help demonstrate the quality and value of U.S. soybeans to customers and trade partners around the world. Rendel explained that participating in the program gives farmers an opportunity to contribute meaningful, real-world data while also helping showcase what distinguishes U.S. soybeans from other options in the global marketplace. That matters because the United States is one of the world's leading soybean exporters, competing with suppliers such as Brazil and Argentina, and international buyers increasingly weigh quality and composition alongside price and availability when sourcing cargoes.
The program is part of the broader Soy Checkoff effort. The national soybean checkoff, overseen by the USB, is funded by soybean farmers and invests in research, market development, and promotion on their behalf. Farmers interested in what their own crop analysis shows, or in adding their operation's data to the national picture, can look for sampling-kit details through USB and Soy Checkoff channels as harvest gets underway.
Rendel also reviewed several other areas of focus for the Soy Checkoff in an in-depth conversation with Brownfield at the show.
Source: Brownfield Ag News — By Cyndi Young-puyear, September 4, 2026
